5K Anniversary

First of all it looks like my presidential bid has been derailed. I figured with my late start it would be rough going. I also never imagined I would have to use my own cash for advertisements - YIKES. Anyway, thanks to the 22 people in Missouri who voted for me and a very special thanks to the 3 in California! Maybe next time guys...

So it has been a year since I started running 5K's. It was a rough year on the body but after a nice break in November and December I strapped on the old running shoes and started back up again. It also doesn't hurt that I have a group of friends in KC who love running races with me and keep reminding me of that. On January 27th, I returned to the scene of my first 5K - The Children's TLC Groundhog Run (starting line picture on the left). This race is believed to be the only 5K in the nation that is completely underground which makes for a unique race. I had one goal for this race - this year I was going to beat that guy in the beaver, I mean groundhog, outfit.

If you have been reading the mansion for awhile you remember the post from last years race. We got to the start line late, I was sick and I couldn't catch that groundhog no matter what I tried. I finished with a gun time of 39:14. I am not sure why they don't do chip time for this race. In case you are wondering gun time is the time recorded from the the moment the gun goes off until you cross the finish line. In terms of this race it can add an additional 30 seconds or more to your time if you are in the back of the pack when you start. Chip time is the time recordced from when you cross the start line until you cross the finish line. I imagine if you chop the 5 minutes or so we were late getting to the starting line I ran about a 34 minute 5K last year.

Well this year was a different story. We got to the race early and I was at the start line with plenty of time to spare. Actually it was probably a little too early as I started to get nervous waiting for the race to start. After the star spangled banner (and yes I still get goosebumps listening to that song before I am competing in an event) the race started. It took me about 20-30 seconds to get to the actual starting line and after running elbow to elbow with people for the first quarter of a mile I decided enough is enough and turned on the jets. By mile 1 I had put a good 1300 of the 2000 race entrants behind me and got back to running at my own pace.

It was a pretty uneventful race once I settled into my own groove. The groundhog was safely behind me (actually I never saw him again after the race started) so my goal had been accomplished by mile 1. The only real problem I had at the race was I started my finish line kick a little early and had almost nothing left for the last 100 meters. I will work on that. I finished with a gun time of 27:40 and finished 628 out of 2000. That gun time was my personal best by 20 seconds and it felt really good. I have high hopes for a 25 minute 5K this year and that is my goal for the year of running.

I guess it is time for TheGov to get back on the campaign trail. Thanks for stopping in and remember, the first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. Have a great day everyone...